Before you read the passage, talk about these questions.

1 How does identity theft affect businesses?

2 How can people avoid falling for phishing schemes?

Reading

Read the letter from a bank to its customers. Then, mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F).

1 _Pretexting occurs on telephones.

2 _Pharming relies on the use of card scanners.

3 _Trojan horses are spread by pharming sites.

Vocabulary

Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.

1 I had a lot of malicious software on my old computer. __l__r_

2 You have a malicious virus that seems beneficial. an r       

3 Tricking people into giving information through email is a serious crime. p h__g

4 Stealing another's personal information is on the rise. i i__ _h_f_

5 It's a program that gathers personal information. _p  e

6 Capturing information stored on cards is a new form of stealing. d _c   n_

7 Using a legitimate-looking website to trick people fools many people. p m

Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

Fraud           pretexting       cyber       worm       scanner

1 The man on the phone was part of a ______ scam.

2 I got a _________ in my email and now my computer won't work.

3 The criminal used a _______ to steal the information on her card.

4 The man was arrested and went to jail for committing ______.

5 Avoid ______ crime by being safe on your computer.

5. Listen and read the letter from a bank to its customers again. Why is Lincolnshire Bank contacting its customers?

Listening

6. Listen to a conversation between a customer and a bank employee. Choose the correct answers

1 What is the customer calling about?

A closing her bank account

В reporting a phishing scam

С flagging her account activity

D changing her account information

2 What can be inferred about the woman?

A She receives phishing scams often.

В She has already contacted the police.

С She must call the bank to get money.

D She lost the money in her bank account in the scam.

Listen again and complete the conversation.

Employee: Oh! Did it ask you to give away any 1       

Customer: Yeah. It said that the bank 2  my account details.

Employee: Did you email them that information?

Customer: No, I thought I should call the bank first. It seemed 3  

Employee: Yes, Lincolnshire Bank would never ask for your account details via email.

Customer: That's what I thought, but the email 4 because it had the bank logo. It even linked to a site that looked official.

Employee: Well, some of these criminals are 5   

 

Speaking

With a partner, act out the roles below based on Task 7. Then, switch roles.

USE LANGUAGE SUCH AS:

I think a received a phishing scam.

Did you email them that information?

It even linked to a site that looked official.

Student A: You are talking to a bank employee. Ask Student В about:

• phishing scams

• what to do next

• your money's safety

Student B: You are a bank employee. Answer Student As questions.

Writing

9. You are a bank employee. Use the letter and the conversation from Task 8 to write about identity theft (120-150 words). Talk about:

• How criminals steal personal information

• How customers can protect their assets

Preventative measures

1) Popup

2) Firewall

3) Keylogger

4) Audit log

5) Patch

From: [e-mail]

To: [e-mail]

Dear Harper Company Staff,

By now, you are all aware of the recent security breach. The IT department has traced it to a bug in our browsers. This bug created an unwanted backdoor in the network, allowing intruders in. They installed keyloggers that track our passwords.

The IT department removed the keyloggers, and the software supplier is releasing a patch that will fix this error. We will inform you when this patch becomes available.

However, this provides a good opportunity to remind you of the measures we must take to make our network safer.

Remember, you must keep the firewall settings as strict as possible on your computer. This prevents attacks from hackers and keeps certain types of malware out of the system.

Be cautious when downloading files. Perform a virus scan on every email attachment. Also, enable your browsers to block popups. Otherwise, spyware can get on to your computer.

Only download company-approved programs to your computer. Unauthorized programs may contain Trojans that can do irreversible damage to our system. Please consult the IT department for a list of authenticated programs.

In addition, we will review our audit logs from now on. This is to make sure no one violates security protocol. Employees violating protocol will receive disciplinary action.

Jared Greene

Manager,

Harper Company

Get ready!